Archive for the ‘Nebula Conference’ Category

March 14: Nebula Finalist Announcement, Early Bird Rate Ending, & Scholarship Application Deadline

 

Finalist Announcement

Please help us celebrate the announcement of our 2023 Nebula Award finalists (to be presented this year in Pasadena) with a presentation beginning on our SFWA Youtube channel, tomorrow, March 14, starting at 5PM PT.

Once again, we’ll be calling upon a talented group of SAG-AFTRA narrators to take us through an evening filled with a variety of outstanding speculative fiction works.

It’s sure to be a night to remember! We hope you’ll join us!

Early Bird Rate Expiring 

Tickets are selling fast to the SFWA Nebula Conference, which is why we’re encouraging those of you who are on the fence about attending to register now. The early bird registration deadline is tomorrow.

Register Here

Join us to engage in professional development and foster community among SFF aspiring and industry professionals. And of course, we’ll celebrate our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend, but most especially at the Nebula Award ceremony. That includes recognizing the inspiring work of our newest Grand Master, Susan Cooper.

In-person registration includes all online access. With every conference ticket, you can watch and listen to all recorded panels and presentations that took place over the weekend. If you or someone you know needs a scholarship to participate in the conference, please keep reading!

Scholarship Deadline

SFWA will once again be offering scholarships for members of under-served communities to attend the Nebula conference! The 2024 Nebula Conference will take place June 6-9 in Pasadena, CA and online. If you or someone you know may benefit from these scholarships, please apply here or share this link:

https://airtable.com/appqxO86fh6JpPBNR/shrjMcYbZyuTxhwVH

Scholarship applications must be completed on this form by March 14th, 2024. The scholarship recipients will be selected from the applicant pool by lottery. Applicants may be considered for more than one scholarship if they identify with more than one of the following groups.

Here are the categories of scholarships we’re offering and the number of online conference scholarships available for each:

  • Scholarship for Black and/or Indigenous Creators: This scholarship is open to Black and/or Indigenous creators in the United States and abroad. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for AAPI Creators: This scholarship is available to Asian creators, Asian American creators, and creators from the Pacific Islands. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarships for Hispanic/Latinx Creators: This scholarship is available to creators with backgrounds in Spanish-speaking and/or Latin American cultures. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for Writers Based Outside of the U.S.: This scholarship is available to creators who live outside the United States. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for members of the LGBTQIA+ Community: This scholarship is available to creators who identify as LGBTQIA+. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for creators with disabilities: This scholarship is available to creators who identify as having a disability. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for creators who face financial barriers: This scholarship is available to creators whose financial situations may otherwise prevent them from participating. (quantity: 15 online scholarships)
  • Scholarship for in-person registration are available in limited quantities for creators who identify with one of our online scholarship groups. This scholarship does not include funds for travel, lodging or other related expenses to attend the conference, only for registration.

Our support of underserved communities isn’t possible without your help. If you are able, please consider making a donation at sfwa.org/donate to help us fund additional scholarships in the future.

We hope to see you at the Nebulas!

The SFWA Events Team

2024 Nebula Conference Dates Announced

Join us June 6-9th in Pasadena, California or online! Registration will open soon at events.sfwa.org.

After an exhaustive, cross-country search that involved dozens of hotel proposals, the 2024 Nebula Conference and Awards will be held both in Pasadena California at the Westin and online! The team has already begun preparations and we hope to once again welcome you no matter which way you decide to attend! Registration will be opening soon, but before it does, we’re looking for both programming ideas and for volunteer speakers!

Share Panel Topics and Other Programming Ideas

The Nebulas programming team is collecting proposals for panels and other session ideas! We rely on submissions to this form to ensure our program is full of content which our community members will find valuable, relevant and interesting. Have more than one idea? Feel free to share multiple submissions! Complete this form to submit your ideas!

Volunteer to be a Speaker

The Nebula Conference depends on volunteer speakers to contribute their hard-won experience, professional expertise, and wisdom. If we add you to our list of potential speakers, you will receive a survey in the coming weeks to help match you to a speaking opportunity. Follow these instructions to be considered for our list of potential speakers!

Speakers do not need to be SFWA members, but all speakers must register to attend the conference.

SFWA Names the 58th Nebula Award Finalists

March 7, 2023 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 58th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works published in 2022. 

The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023, that will stream live as it is held in-person in Anaheim, CA, as part of the 2023 Nebula Conference Online. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Associate, and Senior members of SFWA.

Here is the complete list of finalists:

 

Nebula Award for Novel

Legends & Lattes, Travis Baldree (Cryptid; Tor)

Spear, Nicola Griffith (Tordotcom)

Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (Tor; Titan UK)

Babel, R.F. Kuang (Harper Voyager US; Harper Voyager UK)

Nona the Ninth, Tamsyn Muir (Tordotcom)

The Mountain in the Sea, Ray Nayler (MCD; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

 

Nebula Award for Novella

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)

“Bishop’s Opening“, R.S.A. Garcia (Clarkesworld 1/22)

I Never Liked You Anyway, Jordan Kurella (Vernacular)

Even Though I Knew the End, C.L. Polk (Tordotcom)

High Times in the Low Parliament, Kelly Robson (Tordotcom)

 

Nebula Award for Novelette

“If You Find Yourself Speaking to God, Address God with the Informal You“, John Chu (Uncanny 7–8/22)

“Two Hands, Wrapped in Gold“, S.B. Divya (Uncanny 5–6/22)

“Murder by Pixel: Crime and Responsibility in the Digital Darkness“, S.L. Huang (Clarkesworld 12/22)

“A Dream of Electric Mothers“, Wole Talabi (Africa Risen)

“The Prince of Salt and the Ocean’s Bargain“, Natalia Theodoridou (Uncanny 9/22)

“We Built This City“, Marie Vibbert (Clarkesworld 6/22)

 

Nebula Award for Short Story

“Destiny Delayed“, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Asimov’s 5–6/22)

“Give Me English“, Ai Jiang (F&SF 5–6/22)

“Rabbit Test“, Samantha Mills (Uncanny 11–12/22)

“Douen“, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 3/22)

“Dick Pig“, Ian Muneshwar (Nightmare 1/22)

“D.I.Y“, John Wiswell (Tor.com 8/24/22)

 

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, K. Tempest Bradford (Farrar, Straus, Giroux)

The Scratch Daughters, H. A. Clarke (Erewhon)

The Mirrorwood, Deva Fagan (Atheneum)

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester, Maya MacGregor (Astra Young Readers)

Every Bird a Prince, Jenn Reese (Henry Holt)

 

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Andor: “One Way Out”, Beau Willimon, Tony Gilroy (Lucasfilm, Disney+)

Everything Everywhere All at Once, Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (A24, AGBO, IAC Films)

Nope, Jordan Peele (Universal Pictures)

Our Flag Means Death, David Jenkins, Eliza Jiménez Cossio, Zadry Ferrer-Geddes, William Meny, Maddie Dai, Alyssa Lane, John Mahone, Simone Nathan, Natalie Torres, Zackery Alexzander Stephens, Alex J. Sherman, Jes Tom, Adam Stein, Yvonne Zima (Dive, HBO Max)

The Sandman: Season 1, Neil Gaiman, Lauren Bello, Vanessa Benton, Mike Dringenberg, Sam Kieth, Catherine Smyth-McMullen, Heather Bellson, Jim Campolongo, Jay Franklin, Austin Guzman, Alexander Newman-Wise, Ameni Rozsa, David Goyer, Allan Heinberg (DC Entertainment, Netflix)

Severance, Dan Erickson, Chris Black, Andrew Colville, Amanda Overton, Anna Ouyang Moench, Helen Leigh, Kari Drake, and Mark Friedman. (Endeavor Content, Red Hour Films, Apple TV+)

 

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Elden Ring, Hidetaka Miyazaki, George R.R. Martin (FromSoftware, Bandai Namco)

Horizon Forbidden West, Ben McCaw, John Gonzalez, Annie Kitain, Ariadna Martinez, Nick van Someren Brand, Andrew Walsh, Adam Dolin, Anne Toole, Arjan Terpstra, Ben Schroder, Dee Warrick, Giles Armstrong (Guerrilla Games, Sony Interactive Entertainment)

Journeys through the Radiant Citadel, Ajit A. George, F. Wesley Schneider, Justice Ramin Arman, Dominique Dickey, Basheer Ghouse, Alastor Guzman, D. Fox Harrell, T.K. Johnson, Felice Tzehuei Kuan, Surena Marie, Mimi Mondal, Mario Ortegón, Miyuki Jane Pinckard, Pam Punzalan, Erin Roberts, Stephanie Yoon, Terry H. Romero (Wizards of the Coast: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Ed.)

Pentiment, Kate Dollarhyde, Zoe Franznick, Märten Rattasepp, Josh Sawyer (Obsidian Entertainment, Xbox Game Studios)

Stray, Steven Lerner, Vivien Mermet-Guyenet, Colas Koola (BlueTwelve Studio, Annapurna Interactive)

Vampire: The Masquerade – Sins of the Sires, Natalia Theodoridou (Choice of Games, Paradox Interactive)

 

We look forward to celebrating all the finalists with aspiring and professional creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres at the 2023 Nebula Conference, May 12–14, 2023.

Questions about the awards or the upcoming conference may be directed to the SFWA Events Team at events@sfwa.org.

2023 Nebula Conference Registration and Volunteer & Programming Opportunities

We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2023 Nebula Conference, which will be taking place both online and in-person at the Sheraton Park Hotel at the Anaheim Resort, in Anaheim, CA, the weekend of May 12–14, 2023.

Conference Hotel exterior with fireworks in the night sky behind it.

Registrations may be purchased at this link. Registration for the online portion of the conference is $150.00 and includes access to broadcasts of the weekend’s panels and the subsequent archive, the Nebula Awards ceremony, a conference Discord, and entry to our ongoing Nebula conference events beginning May 1, 2023.

In-person conference registration begins at $449.00. Due to limited space and seating, we anticipate the conference and banquet to sell out, so we are encouraging people to buy their tickets early. Participants may attend panels and the awards ceremony in-person, take part in mentorships and receptions, and visit the SFWA hospitality suite. It also includes access to the online conference.

For Anaheim attendees, tickets for the Nebula Awards banquet can be purchased for an additional $125.00. This three-course celebration dinner held before the Nebula Awards ceremony on Sunday, May 14, 2023 is a fantastic opportunity to mingle with old friends and meet new peers. Conference attendees who wish to attend the ceremony without purchasing a ticket to the banquet may do so on a space-available basis.

The Nebula Conference is the premier professional development conference for aspiring and established members of the science fiction and fantasy industries. It includes content geared toward creators working in games, comics, prose, poetry, and other mediums of storytelling, which reflects the diversifying and expanding membership in the organization.  We hope you’ll join us in celebrating our community and our Nebula Award finalists and honorees throughout the weekend.

Exterior of the conference hotel with lawn and palm trees.

Programming Survey

Are you interested in being part of the programming for this year’s online Nebula Conference? That could mean being a panelist or giving a workshop! Or it could simply mean suggesting the topics you’d most like to see on the schedule.

If you’d like to volunteer as a speaker, you can do that by updating your volunteer preferences when you complete your registration or at any time by updating your volunteer preferences in your profile at SFWA.org. Not a member? Not a problem! Anyone can volunteer as a speaker at any time by submitting contact information and volunteer preferences here: https://membership.sfwa.org/Volunteer.  Either way, you’ll receive an automated survey shortly after you update your preferences.

To contribute specific panel and programming ideas to our 2023 conference, submit your program proposal by Monday, Feb 13, 2023 here: https://airtable.com/shrXE8V14VhKjbrBH. Please complete one form for each program idea you’d like to suggest.

Volunteer Opportunities

The Nebula Conference could not exist without the assistance of our amazing group of volunteers. Not only that, volunteering at the conference is an easy and fast way to meet new people and make friends. Join us, whether in-person or online!

We have dozens of volunteer roles that need to be filled, but we’re looking for excited, dedicated volunteers to hit the floor running in a few key areas:

  • Banquet Manager (in-person)
  • Safety Ambassadors (in-person and online)
  • Accessibility Ambassadors (in-person and online)
  • Special Guest Liaison (in-person)
  • Nebula Award Finalists Liaison (in-person and online)
  • Local Coordinator (in-person)

If you are interested in any of those roles, whether in-person or online, please contact our volunteer coordinator at volunteers@sfwa.org. More detailed calls about other Nebula Conference volunteer roles will be sent out soon.

Once again, registrations may be purchased at this link. Hotel reservations must be made separately, and information on how to reserve a room at conference rates is available at that webpage. For questions, please contact events@sfwa.org.

We look forward to seeing you on the Airship Nebula or at the Anaheim Port of Call in May!

The SFWA Events Team

SFWA Announces the Winners of the 57th Annual Nebula Awards®

May 21, 2022 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 57th Annual Nebula Awards®. These awards are given to the writers of the most outstanding speculative fiction works released in 2021, as voted on by Full, Associate, and Senior SFWA members. The awards were presented at the live broadcast of the 57th Annual Nebula Awards Ceremony, hosted by Toastmasters Connie Willis and Neil Gaiman.

The winners are as follows:

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVEL

A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom; Orbit UK)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELLA

And What Can We Offer You Tonight, Premee Mohamed (Neon Hemlock)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR NOVELETTE

“O2 Arena”, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Galaxy’s Edge 11/21)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR SHORT STORY

“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3–4/21)

 

THE ANDRE NORTON NEBULA AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION

A Snake Falls to Earth, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

 

THE RAY BRADBURY NEBULA AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMATIC PRESENTATION

WandaVision: Season 1, Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer, Cameron Squires, Gretchen Enders, and Chuck Hayward (Marvel Studios)

 

NEBULA AWARD FOR GAME WRITING

Thirsty Sword Lesbians, April Kit Walsh, Whitney Delaglio, Dominique Dickey, Jonaya Kemper, Alexis Sara, and Rae Nedjadi (Evil Hat Games)

 

Additional awards and honors presented:

THE SFWA DAMON KNIGHT MEMORIAL GRAND MASTER AWARD

Mercedes Lackey

 

THE KATE WILHELM SOLSTICE AWARD

Arley Sorg

Troy L. Wiggins

Petra Mayer (posthumous)

 

THE KEVIN J. O’DONNELL, JR. SERVICE TO SFWA AWARD

Colin Coyle

Presenters joined virtually from around the country, including many past Nebula Award winners among them, and former and current SFWA Board members: Martha Wells, DaVaun Saunders, Greg Kasavin, John Scalzi, Amal El-Mohtar, Steven H Silver, Henry Lien, A. T. Greenblatt, C.L. Polk, and SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy and Vice President Tobias S. Buckell.

The ceremony can be viewed at SFWA’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

2022 Kate Wilhelm Solstice Awards Go to Arley Sorg, Troy L. Wiggins, and Petra Mayer

We are pleased to announce that the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award will be presented to Arley Sorg and Troy L. Wiggins, and posthumously, to Petra Mayer at the 57th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards®. The ceremony takes place Saturday, May 21, 2022, at 5pm Pacific Time.
Image of the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, which features a giant butterfly.

 

The Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award is given by SFWA for distinguished contributions to the science fiction and fantasy community. Sorg, Wiggins, and Mayer join the ranks of previous Solstice Award winners, including Octavia E. Butler, James Tiptree, Jr., and Carl Sagan.

Arley Sorg
Headshot of Arley Sorg with multiple awards in the background

It’s possible that no other person has attended as many science fiction and fantasy conventions as Arley Sorg, primarily in his role as a senior editor and photographer for Locus Magazine. His convention reports, interviews, and book reviews have given many up-and-coming and established creators a moment in the spotlight. But Sorg’s work with several of the genres’ most celebrated short fiction markets is arguably more influential, including his recent reprisal of Fantasy Magazine with Christie Yant. Sorg has also been a relentlessly empowering voice for many storytellers behind-the-scenes, giving countless pep talks and good advice online and in person. 

Arley Sorg is co-editor-in-chief at Fantasy Magazine, a 2021 World Fantasy Award Finalist and a 2022 Locus Award Finalist. He is also a finalist for two 2022 Ignyte Awards, for his work as a critic as well as for his creative nonfiction. Arley is a senior editor at Locus Magazine, associate editor at both Lightspeed & Nightmare, and a columnist for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He takes on multiple roles, including slush reader, movie reviewer, and book reviewer, and conducts interviews for multiple venues, including Clarkesworld Magazine and his own site: arleysorg.com. He has taught classes and run workshops for Clarion West, Augur Magazine, and more, and has been a guest speaker at a range of events. 

Troy L. Wiggins

Troy L. Wiggins has been supporting Black speculative fiction storytelling for years through curation, criticism, editorial work, and of course, his own fiction. For over a decade, he’s contributed both commentary on the influence of Black writing in the speculative genres and helped shape it, most recently through his contribution to Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda. As the publisher and former co-editor at the groundbreaking FIYAH Magazine, Wiggins carries this important work to the African diaspora at large.

Troy L. Wiggins is an award-winning writer and editor from Memphis, Tennessee. His short fiction has appeared in the Griots: Sisters of the Spear, Long Hidden: Speculative From the Margins of History, and Memphis Noir anthologies, and in Expanded Horizons, Fireside, Uncanny and Beneath Ceaseless Skies Magazines. His essays and criticism have appeared in the Memphis Flyer, Literary Orphans Magazine, People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, PEN America, and on Tor.com.

Troy is the former co-editor of the Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning FIYAH Magazine of Black Speculative Fiction. He was inducted into the Dal Coger Memorial Hall of Fame for his contributions to Speculative Fiction in Memphis in 2018. Troy infrequently blogs about writing, nerd culture, and race at afrofantasy.wordpress.com. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and entirely too many books. 

Petra Mayer

Photo Credit: Allison Shelley/NPR

Petra Mayer loved the speculative fiction genres, and passionately celebrated them throughout her career in the news media. In choosing what writers she worked with and what books to feature, she repeatedly uplifted marginalized creators and introduced a host of readers to their stories. Mayer made space for unheard voices and developed guides like the Book Concierge, that fans of all backgrounds could use to discover new favorites. Her work and joy were gifts to the industry.

Petra Mayer was an editor at NPR Books. She shared her enthusiasm for genre fiction on air at NPR in the form of book reviews, as a regular guest on the podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, through her reporting on the San Diego Comic-Con, and through the Book Concierge book recommendation tool. In her earlier career, Mayer was an associate director and producer for All Things Considered. She began working in the news media in 1997.

Mayer passed away at the young age of 46 in November 2021. Her parents established the Petra Mayer Memorial Fund for Internships. This dedicated fund “will support internships with NPR’s Culture Desk, helping to develop passionate journalists who—like Petra—can inspire audiences with a love of learning, passion for books, and dedication to sharing stories that matter.”

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy remarks, “Arley, Troy, and Petra are shining examples of how people contribute to the greater genre community by pursuing their own personal passions. I’m delighted to celebrate Arley’s and Troy’s wonderful contributions and look forward to what they’ll go on to do. I mourn the loss of Petra and all she contributed to the SFF genre and community. I hope this award will help put a light on someone we lost far too young.”

The 57th Annual Nebula Awards Ceremony will stream live on SFWA’s YouTube and Facebook channels for the public. The ceremony takes place during the 2022 Nebula Conference Online, an annual professional development conference organized by SFWA for aspiring and established professionals of the speculative fiction industry. Registration is $150 and may be purchased at events.sfwa.org.

SFWA Announces Nebula Award Finalists

March 8, 2022 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 57th Annual Nebula Awards®! Our congratulations go out to each and every finalist for the recognition of their excellent works of science fiction and fantasy published in 2021. 

The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on Saturday, May 21, 2022, that will stream live as part of the 2022 Nebula Conference Online. Winners in each category will be determined by the vote of Full, Active, and Senior members of SFWA.

Here is the complete list of finalists:

Nebula Award for Novel

The Unbroken, C.L. Clark (Orbit US; Orbit UK)
A Master of Djinn, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom; Orbit UK)
Machinehood, S.B. Divya (Saga)
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine (Tor; Tor UK)
Plague Birds, Jason Sanford (Apex)

Nebula Award for Novella

A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Becky Chambers (Tordotcom)
Fireheart Tiger, Aliette de Bodard (Tordotcom)
And What Can We Offer You Tonight, Premee Mohamed (Neon Hemlock)
Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters, Aimee Ogden (Tordotcom)
Flowers for the Sea, Zin E. Rocklyn (Tordotcom)
The Necessity of Stars, E. Catherine Tobler (Neon Hemlock)
“The Giants of the Violet Sea”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 9–10/21)

Nebula Award for Novelette

“O2 Arena”, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (Galaxy’s Edge 11/21)
“Just Enough Rain”, PH Lee (Giganotosaurus 5/21)
“(emet)”, Lauren Ring (F&SF 7–8/21)
“That Story Isn’t the Story”, John Wiswell (Uncanny 11–12/21)
“Colors of the Immortal Palette”, Caroline M. Yoachim (Uncanny 3–4/21)

Nebula Award for Short Story

“Mr. Death”, Alix E. Harrow (Apex 2/21)
“Proof by Induction”, José Pablo Iriarte (Uncanny 5–6/21)
“Let All the Children Boogie”, Sam J. Miller (Tor.com 1/6/21)
“Laughter Among the Trees”, Suzan Palumbo (The Dark 2/21)
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather”, Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny 3–4/21)
“For Lack of a Bed”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 4/21) 

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Victories Greater Than Death, Charlie Jane Anders (Tor Teen; Titan)
Thornwood, Leah Cypess (Delacorte)
Redemptor, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet; Hot Key)
A Snake Falls to Earth, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)
Root Magic, Eden Royce (Walden Pond)
Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao (Penguin Teen; Rock the Boat)

Ray Bradbury Nebula Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation

Encanto, Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse, Lin-Manuel Miranda (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures)
The Green Knight, David Lowery (Sailor Bear, BRON Studios, A24)
Loki: Season 1, Bisha K. Ali, Elissa Karasik, Eric Martin, Michael Waldron, Tom Kauffman, Jess Dweck (Marvel Studios)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Dave Callaham, Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham (Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios)
Space Sweepers, Jo Sung-hee, Yookang Seo-ae, and Yoon Seung-min (Bidangil Pictures)
WandaVision: Season 1, Peter Cameron, Mackenzie Dohr, Laura Donney, Bobak Esfarjani, Megan McDonnell, Jac Schaeffer, Cameron Squires, Gretchen Enders, Chuck Hayward (Marvel Studios)
What We Do in the Shadows: Season 3, Jake Bender, Zach Dunn, Shana Gohd, Sam Johnson, Chris Marcil, William Meny, Sarah Naftalis, Stefani Robinson, Marika Sawyer, Paul Simms, Lauren Wells (FX Productions, Two Canoes Pictures, 343 Incorporated, FX Network)

Nebula Award for Game Writing

Coyote & Crow, Connor Alexander, William McKay, Weyodi Oldbear, Derek Pounds, Nico Albert, Riana Elliott, Diogo Nogueira, William Thompson (Coyote & Crow, LLC.)
Granma’s Hand, Balogun Ojetade (Balogun Ojetade, Roaring Lion Productions)
Thirsty Sword Lesbians, April Kit Walsh, Whitney Delagio, Dominique Dickey, Jonaya Kemper, Alexis Sara, Rae Nedjadi (Evil Hat Games)
Wanderhome, Jay Dragon (Possum Creek Games)
Wildermyth, Nate Austin, Anne Austin, Douglas Austin (Worldwalker Games, LLC)

Author Martha Wells graciously declined her nomination as a novella finalist this year for Fugitive Telemetry: Murderbot Diaries, Book 6, published by Tordotcom. Wells felt that the Murderbot Diaries series has already received incredible praise from her industry peers and wanted to open the floor to highlight other works within the community.

We look forward to celebrating all the finalists with aspiring and professional creators in the science fiction and fantasy genres at the 2022 Nebula Conference Online, May 19–22.

Questions about the awards or the upcoming conference may be directed to the SFWA Events Team at events@sfwa.org.

—

For Nebula and SFWA logos, visit our media kit.

Mercedes Lackey Named the 38th SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is proud to announce that Mercedes Lackey has been named the 38th Damon Knight Grand Master for her contributions to the literature of science fiction and fantasy. 

The SFWA Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award recognizes “lifetime achievement in science fiction and/or fantasy.” It is named after author Damon Knight, SFWA’s founder and the organization’s 13th Grand Master. Mercedes Lackey joins 37 writers who’ve been granted the title, including other luminaries such as Nalo Hopkinson, Peter S. Beagle, Connie Willis, Ursula K. LeGuin, Ray Bradbury, Anne McCaffrey, and Joe Haldeman. 

Embracing science fiction at the early age of ten or eleven, Lackey immersed herself in the works of James H. Schmitz and Andre Norton. An interest in fan fiction strongly encouraged her writing and her first sale was to Friends of Darkover. Her first novel was Arrows of the Queen, first published in 1987. Best known for her Valdemar series, which spans thousands of years and characters, Lackey has written and published over 140 books and short stories through her thirty-four-year professional career. 

SFWA President Jeffe Kennedy had the following to say about the organization’s newest Grand Master, “From the time I read my first Mercedes Lackey book as a young woman, her stories have illuminated my imagination and brought joy to my life. With multi-layered fantasy worlds, canny magical systems, and characters who step off the page as living, breathing people, Lackey’s books have made an enormous impact on the genre. She gave me warrior women I could believe in, magic-wielding queer heroes, and characters who suffered, then overcame their physical and emotional traumas. Lackey continues to have a lasting influence on my own work and I’m beyond thrilled to see her honored as SFWA’s newest Grand Master.”

In addition to her writing, Lackey has also contributed to the science fiction and fantasy filking community through songwriting, which earned her five Pegasus Awards. She was also a part of The Stellar Guild, a project conceived by the late Mike Resnick, which paired well-known authors with lesser known creatives in an effort to boost their visibility. 

An online video gamer, craftsperson, ball-jointed doll collector, radar-enthusiast during tornado season, and raptor rehabilitationist, Lackey’s journeys into all of these hobbies have influenced her most popular works. 

The 38th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master award will be presented to Lackey during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference and the 57th Nebula Awards, May 19–22, 2022.. The conference will be SFWA’s first hybrid event, taking place in person in Los Angeles, and aboard the virtual Airship Nebula online. We will be opening registration soon, so keep an eye on nebulas.sfwa.org for more information! 

SFWA Announces the 56th Annual Nebula Award® Finalists

March 15, 2021 – The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 56th Annual Nebula Awards®.The awards will be presented in a virtual ceremony on June 5, 2021, hosted by returning Toastmaster Aydrea Walden.

SFWA is pleased to welcome back Aydrea for a second year. Walden has written for the series Yin Yang Yo! and created, written, and starred in the Webby-nominated series Black Girl in a Big Dress. She has worked in the animation department on the films The Croods, Home, and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Walden also performs, appearing in her one-woman show, The Oreo Experience: A Total Whitey Trapped in a Black Chick’s Body, the short film Sci-Fi 60, and an episode of The Mandalorian.

 

NOVEL

Piranesi, Susanna Clarke (Bloomsbury US; Bloomsbury UK)

The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin (Orbit US & UK)

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Del Rey; Jo Fletcher)

The Midnight Bargain, C.L. Polk (Erewhon)

Black Sun, Rebecca Roanhorse (Saga; Solaris)

Network Effect, Martha Wells (Tordotcom)


NOVELLA

“Tower of Mud and Straw”, Yaroslav Barsukov (Metaphorosis)

Finna, Nino Cipri (Tordotcom)

Ring Shout, P. Djèlí Clark (Tordotcom)

“Ife-Iyoku, the Tale of Imadeyunuagbon”, Ekpeki Oghenechovwe Donald (Dominion: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction from Africa and the African Diaspora, Aurelia Leo)

The Four Profound Weaves, R.B. Lemberg (Tachyon)

Riot Baby, Tochi Onyebuchi (Tordotcom)


NOVELETTE

“Stepsister”, Leah Cypess (F&SF 5-6/20)

“The Pill”, Meg Elison (Big Girl, PM Press)

“Burn or the Episodic Life of Sam Wells as a Super”, A.T. Greenblatt (Uncanny 5-6/20)

“Two Truths and a Lie”, Sarah Pinsker (Tor.com 6/17/20)

“Where You Linger”, Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Shadow Prisons”, Caroline M. Yoachim (serialized in the Dystopia Triptych series as “The Shadow Prison Experiment”, “Shadow Prisons of the Mind”, and “The Shadow Prisoner’s Dilemma”, Broad Reach Publishing + Adamant Press)


SHORT STORY

“Badass Moms in the Zombie Apocalypse”, Rae Carson (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Advanced Word Problems in Portal Math”, Aimee Picchi (Daily Science Fiction 1/3/20)

“A Guide for Working Breeds”, Vina Jie-Min Prasad (Made to Order: Robots and Revolution, Solaris)

“The Eight-Thousanders”, Jason Sanford (Asimov’s 9-10/20)

“My Country Is a Ghost”, Eugenia Triantafyllou (Uncanny 1-2/20)

“Open House on Haunted Hill”, John Wiswell (Diabolical Plots 6/15/20)

 

THE ANDRE NORTON NEBULA AWARD FOR MIDDLE GRADE AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION

Raybearer, Jordan Ifueko (Amulet)

Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher (Argyll)

A Game of Fox & Squirrels, Jenn Reese (Holt)

Star Daughter, Shveta Thakrar (HarperTeen)

 

GAME WRITING

Blaseball, Stephen Bell, Joel Clark, Sam Rosenthal (The Game Band)

Hades, Greg Kasavin (Supergiant) 

Kentucky Route Zero, Jake Elliott (Cardboard Computer)

The Luminous Underground, Phoebe Barton (Choice of Games)

Scents & Semiosis, Sam Kabo Ashwell, Cat Manning, Caleb Wilson, Yoon Ha Lee (Self)

Spiritfarer, Nicolas Guérin, Maxime Monast, Alex Tommi-Morin (Thunder Lotus Games)


THE RAY BRADBURY NEBULA AWARD FOR DRAMATIC PRESENTATION

Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, Christina Hodson, Warner Bros. Pictures (Clubhouse Pictures/DC Entertainment/Kroll & Co. Entertainment/LuckyChap Entertainment)

The Expanse: “Gaugamela”, Dan Nowak, Amazon Prime (Alcon Entertainment/Alcon Television Group/Amazon Studios/Hivemind/Just So)

The Good Place: “Whenever You’re Ready”, Michael Schur, NBC (Fremulon/3 Arts Entertainment/Universal)

Lovecraft Country, Season 1, Misha Green, Shannon Houston, Kevin Lau, Wes Taylor, Ihuoma Ofordire, Jonathan I. Kidd, Sonya Winton-Odamtten, HBO Max (Bad Robot/Monkeypaw Productions/Warner Bros.Television)

The Mandalorian: “The Tragedy”, Jon Favreau, Disney+ (Golem Creations/Lucasfilm)

The Old Guard, Greg Rucka, Netflix (Skydance Media/Denver and Delilah Productions/Marc Evans Productions)

The results of the final ballot will be announced at the 56th Annual Nebula Awards® ceremony during the 2021 Nebula Conference Online, June 4–6, 2021. Open to SFWA members and nonmembers alike, the annual Nebula Conference is taking place entirely online for a second year. 

For $125, registered participants will gain entry to professional development panels, virtual socializing spaces dubbed the “Airship Nebula,” mentorship opportunities, office hours with experts, an archive of the content, and access to ongoing educational events throughout the following year. 

Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award To Be Presented to Julia Rios

Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award To Be Presented to Julia Rios

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA, Inc.) is pleased to announce that the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service Award will be presented to Julia Rios at the 55th Annual SFWA Nebula Awards.

The Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award recognizes a member of SFWA who best exemplifies the ideal of service to his or her fellow members.  O’Donnell won the Service Award in 2005 and other recipients have included Lee Martindale, Bud Sparhawk, Jim Fiscus, and Vonda N. McIntyre. The award will be presented at the SFWA Nebula Conference in Woodland Hills, CA, May 28th-31st, 2020.

Rios has established and overseen the SFWA Mentoring Initiative, an all-volunteer service provided free of charge, which aims to connect emerging writers to each other and to established pros with the objective of providing community, sharing knowledge, and offering networking opportunities. Rios is a writer, editor, podcaster, and narrator who has won the Hugo, Aurealis, and Ditmar Awards. They have cohosted the podcasts The Skiffy and Fanty Show and This is Why We’re Like This.

SFWA President Mary Robinette Kowal has said about Rios, “One of the most effective pieces of outreach and education that SFWA currently has is our mentorship program. Julia Rios’s work to match mentors and mentees has been the backbone of that program. More importantly, they set up robust processes so that the program is not person dependent and has room for growth.”

The Nebula Awards will be presented during the annual SFWA Nebula Conference, which will run from May 28th – 31st and feature a series of seminars and panel discussions on the craft and business of writing, SFWA’s annual business meeting, and receptions. On May 31st, a mass autograph session will take place at Warner Center Marriott Woodland Hills and is open to the public.

The Nebula Awards, presented annually, recognize the best works of science fiction and fantasy published in the United States as selected by members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The first Nebula Awards were presented in 1966.

The Nebula Awards include four fiction awards, a game writing award, the Bradbury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Presentation, and the Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction. SFWA also administers the Kate Wilhelm Solstice Award, the Kevin O’Donnell, Jr. Service to SFWA Award, and the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award.